The Maccabaean

We give at length the testimony offered by the Hon. Somin Wolf, representing the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, and by Judge Mack, representing the American Jewish Committee, before the United States Congressional Commission now investigating alien immigration.

These two gentlemen have translated into legal testimony the ideal of Jewish assimilationists, and have attempted to have their interpretation of the facts of Jewish history fastened upon the entire Jewish citizenship of this country not for personal reasons, but in order to retard the growing anti-Jewish feeling which, they declare, will result in immigration restriction should the American people become aware of the numbers of Jews who come to this country.

Though their motives are prompted by interest in the welfare of the Jewish people, we cannot permit them to utilize arguments, and to misinterpret facts, in a manner to bring the Jewish people of this country into contempt with the legislators who are now considering the immigration situation.

Without entering into the merits of the argument, which was not advanced by them not as matters of conviction, but primarily as matters of policy, we desire to dissociate ourselves from their point of view, from their logic, and from their policy.

As Zionists, as Jews, and as American citizens, we, who are charged with being unpatriotic, declare that we have more faith in the fairness of the American people than they, who constantly reiterate and affirm their American patriotism. We think

that the American people will not be prod- ded into anti-Semitism by the mere disclosure of the number of Jews who come to this country; and we believe that if anything could stimulate prejudice against the Jews it would be the shifting, unmanly and undignified pretense of representatives of a people, who against fact and history, and against their own private convictions, disown their racial and national birthright.

When men speak in the name of a people, the duty is imposed upon them to be more careful of their utterances than if tkey spoke in their own interests, It is incumbent upon every one who comes forward to serve the Jewish, people to be certain that what he speaks in their name will have their approva. The honor of an entire people ougkt not to be sullied for the sake of any alleged temporary advantage which may accrue to some of the individuals composing tkat people. By asserting boldiy a theory that there is no Jewish race, but only a conglomeration of people professing the Jewish religion, Judge Mack and Mr. Wolf, and the organizations they represented, uttered a statement, which, if true, would exclude from among our ranks many who are devoted to the welfare of the Jewish people but who are not religionists in the accepted meaning of the term.

We believe we speak in the name of the entire Jewish people when we say that the Jewish people, native-born and naturalized in this country, are not ashamed to have themselves or their brethren classified as racial Jews; that if it serves the purposes of the United States Gov-